Set in rural America in the 1950's, Chasing Butterflies revisits the author's childhood days in his attempt to recapture its joy and charm. A small band of boys share adventures, some comical and some poignant, displaying the innocence, fearlessness, and mischievous living-in-the-moment spirit that once resided in him. JIMMY, BILLY, GILBERT, and other members of their tight little group live an ideal life in southern Maryland. Everything a boy could want or need to have fun is at their disposal, their neighborhood surrounded by fields, forests, and streams, two gravel pits, an abandoned army base, and a haunted old mansion. Exploding homemade rockets, homemade bows and arrows, and riding a plastic boat filled with kids down a snow covered hill all end in near disaster. The reader will not be surprised when Billy spits fire and miraculously escapes serious injury. Jimmy learns valuable lessons during Sunday school on Saturday, having the birds and bees explained by one of the boys, and puzzling over his newly acquired interest in the opposite sex when, at age twelve, he sees a neighbor girl in tight blue shorts and understands his life, thereafter, will never be the same. Recently retired, the author hopes that locked away in those youthful exploits are secrets that can help fill the balance of his earthly existence with the delight he experienced in his childhood. Join Jim in his journey to rediscover the magical joy of life by looking through the eyes of the child he once was.